Chapter 195: All the Relatives Wanted to Invest
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Xing Hai Technologies had delivered a fatal blow to the scalper community, but they had also accidentally hurt a group of ordinary consumers.
These consumers had bought the friendly edition with much effort yet, two days later, they found out that they could have gotten a better value by purchasing the money deluxe edition for the same amount of money, with additional payments for a monthly service fee of $168. What were the opinions of these ordinary consumers?
“I want a refund, or else I want a deluxe edition in exchange” was just one example of what upset consumers had been saying.
Xing Hai Technologies had prepared a response plan for this scenario. It would be impossible to offer refunds, but consumers could purchase a medical tool kit that contained a variety of medical devices for $6,888. With this, the functions and capabilities of the friendly edition would be equivalent to 90% of what the deluxe edition could achieve. Similarly, they would be able to reduce the frequency of their check-ups at the hospital.
The consumers would have to be patient, however, as the medical tool kit would only be available after three months.
They were also confident that the consumers were willing to wait. After all, it was only the New Year now, and there would be no urgency for a few more months.
As to whether the majority of scalpers could survive these three months, it would be up to their luck.
Moreover, they were basically too broke to buy the medical tool kit. Even if they could buy it, they would simply be digging an even deeper grave for themselves. In short, they could not find a way out.
…
The first day of Lunar New Year.
At the He family home in Hundred Birds Heights, Gold Water District.
Chen Jin and his family had come to pay their New Year’s greetings to his grandparents.
The New Year’s gift that they presented was the deluxe edition of the Bang Bang Robot from Xing Hai Technologies. They brought five of them, one for his grandparents and the remaining four for his three uncles and one aunt. A robot that was worth $50,000 for each family member was generous indeed.
Grandfather He Chang Hou was ecstatic. With a delighted, flushed face, he pulled Chen Jin’s arm and said, “Good! Good! Last year was the Little Star learning machine, and the year before that the cleaning robot. This year, you’ve given me an even better robot. When you said that you’d bring us a high-tech product every year, you weren’t kidding. I really want to live to a hundred to see all these technological marvels.”
“It’s possible, grandpa. With this Bang Bang Robot, you can easily live to be a hundred years old!”
The old man laughed heartily in sheer joy. “Good! Good!”
There was another piece of good news. His oldest uncle, He Guo Qiang, had been promoted again this year. Currently, he held the rank of Su Hong City’s deputy mayor in charge of daily operations. It was the third highest rank in the munic.i.p.al government.
The primary reason for his rapid promotion was due to Ling Feng Jing Mi locating their production factory in Su Hong City. Because of his work on that deal, a multibillion-dollar industry had landed in his city and created countless employment opportunities. In turn, this led to an increase in the taxes collected and economic growth. The neighboring cities Youxi and Kunshui could only look on in envy.
Chen Jin had even received a personal call from Shang Hai’s Mayor Yang, who had made many sincere offers and promises. He had hoped that Xing Hai Technologies would locate a few of their production factories in Shang Hai to provide more employment opportunities in this city and thereby also aid the economic growth of his home city.
However, he had also faced multiple calls from his eldest uncle day after day. After considering the cheaper rents in Su Hing City, its more favorable taxes, and cheaper labor costs, he had decided that it was more value for the money to locate the production factories there.
As a result, his eldest uncle had been promoted again. If he had not, the ruling party would have transferred him to the provincial party committee. Other provinces might also have been short of manpower, thus they would have grabbed this particular manpower in a desperate bid. For any province, s.n.a.t.c.hing He Guo Qiang would have been equivalent to s.n.a.t.c.hing the investment provided by Xing Hai Technologies. It was also a political achievement, not to mention an increase in the taxes collected. No one would remain indifferent.
Hence, Su Hing City had to use all means possible to retain He Guo Qiang.
Promoting him was the only way.
Hence, as long as Xing Hai Technologies continued to do well, his eldest uncle would also continue to rise in the political scene.
His eldest uncle knew very well that his own career progression was tied to the performance of his nephew’s company. He was thankful but also felt helpless at the same time. However, more than that, he was filled with lofty aspirations and a great sense of antic.i.p.ation for his future. He had decided to show his prowess and create a legacy of glory.
But he felt awkward thanking Chen Jin, who had been a great help to him, in front of an audience. Hence, he merely raised a gla.s.s to him at the banquet table and said gravely, “Little Chen, let me give you a toast.”
“Uncle, you are my senior, I should be the one toasting you.”
Chen Jin stood up and raised his gla.s.s toward his uncle. After taking a sip, they clinked their gla.s.ses together lightly. They looked at each and nodded at the same time. Everything was expressed in their silent gazes.
Suddenly, he heard a voice saying, “Little Jin, I saw on the news that Xing Hai Technologies has borrowed 50 billion from a commercial bank. Why would you even consider getting a loan from a bank? Little Jin, if your company is experiencing a lack of funds, your little aunt can lend you some money interest free. Just think of it as an investment in your company.”
Chen Jin whipped his head around.
He Jia, his little aunt, was wearing a huge smile on her face.
Moreover, she was speaking in a tone that was gentle, easy-going, and reasonable, something that he had never heard from her.
Courtesy of this kind had never been shown to him. It was so out of the norm that Chen Jin thought he might be hallucinating.
Did those words really come out of her mouth?
Even though Chen Jin did not really like her, it seemed that she was reaching out with an olive branch, hence he looked at her and said, “Little aunt, no matter if the money is used to run the business or for investment purposes, the bottom line is still very much about profits. I can accept a small interest-free loan, but not a big loan. And the accounts between relatives must be clearly defined. Are you interested in investing a small or large sum of capital?”
“Three billion. I can afford 3 billion.”
Chen Jin coughed and asked, “In cash?”
His little aunt nodded, “Yes, in cash. Financial trends for this new year have changed. I’ve liquidated a portion of the real estate under my name, and I have a considerable amount of cash now.”
A coughing fit made its way around the table among his uncles and their wives, who were looking at his little aunt with shocked expressions. His grandfather turned his face aside and shook his head, feeling somewhat ashamed.
Who would have ever thought that a woman who was thrice divorced and with a child to raise had such a huge amount of money to her name that she could take out 3 billion without even blinking!
Chen Jin took a deep breath and asked, “It’s true that Xing Hai Technologies needs capital. I was wondering, how would you like to invest in my company?”
“Well, of course, I want to be a shareholder.”
Batting her lashes, He Jia laced her fingers and said calmly, “I had someone estimate the value of Xing Hai Technologies, which is around 600 billion. So, my request is not unreasonable. Three billion in exchange for shares at a rate of 0.5% with some bonus at the end of the year is sufficient for me.”
Hearing this, a gleam of greed s.h.i.+ned in the eyes of his second oldest uncle, He Guo Fu, who then said, “Little Jin, your uncle wants to invest in your company, too. I can take out 2 billion in exchange for some shares.”
Xing Hai Technologies was, without a doubt, the most profitable company in the country, and there was no other company in its league. It was definitely the number one company that was worth investing in.
Moreover, He Guo Fu had already experienced the success of collaboration. Until today, February 13th, the movie Wa-wah 2, which had premiered on February 1st, had already raked in 4.8 billion in box office sales. It would be a piece of cake to achieve 6 billion in domestic box office sales.
He Guo Fu, who had invested 100 million in this movie, could get an estimated 300 to 400 million in returns on his investment. At this rate, his returns were antic.i.p.ated to be as high as 300%.
For her part, He Jia was motivated to get in on the game precisely because she watched how her brother had profited by investing in Xing Hai Technologies. She quickly had changed her tune toward Chen Jin and his company, which had originally been one of disagreement and skepticism, and had recently started to be more welcoming toward Chen Jin.
Her swift about-face had even stunned her daughter, He Xiao Ling. Behind closed doors, her mother had always spoken poorly of her older sister and her family, especially her cousin Chen Jin. He had always been He Jia’s go-to example of what not to do. She had frequently urged her not to learn from her cousin.
In an instant, He Xiao Ling felt that her mother had become a stranger. She silently asked, “Mom, where do you draw the line?”
In fact, though, He Xiao had also profited from her cousin’s business. Her weakest subject had always been mathematics, yet she had sworn not to use the Little Star learning machine to bring her grades up, as this was a product invented by her cousin, the slacker student. She had a.s.sumed the product was useless and a scam.
Eventually, though, she got the Little Star learning machine and had by now almost mastered its mathematics, physics, and chemistry knowledge trees, making her the top student in her cla.s.s in all three subjects.
…
Listening to the entreaties by his second uncle and little aunt to invest in his company, Chen Jin sank into thought for a few moments before saying, “Uncle, aunt, let’s forget about it if it’s shares you want. Too many shareholders can be troublesome, and it would be impossible to calculate the separate bonuses. On the contrary, there could even be conflicts and hurt feelings, and that wouldn’t be beneficial for any party involved.”
“However, I still welcome investments. I can offer two investment channels.
“One, Xing Hai Technologies plans to split off its investment department and establish it as a separate company. It would be mainly engaged in stock market investment. Uncle, aunt, you can invest your money into Xing Hai Investments and allow our traders to buy stocks, funds, bonds et cetera. Your profit would be derived from these activities. There is a slight risk, but profit is a non-issue; last year our investment department brought in tens of billions in investment returns.
Two, if you are risk-averse and prefer something more stable, you could provide loans to Xing Hai Technologies in the form of commercial loans, which have a higher interest rate than bank loans. The interest is paid annually at 10% of the loan amount as a year-end bonus. For example, if little aunt lends 3 billion to me, I’ll pay back 300 million every year as interest. The risks are low, and you can withdraw your princ.i.p.al at any time.
“Uncle, aunt, would you consider these options?”
Having heard his two options, He Jia gave him an unfathomable look.
You scheming brat! What conflicts? Whose hurt feelings? These are all excuses! The t.i.tle given to you by those in the investment circles is correct. You’re the Devourer.
I had never imagined that you would be so stingy with your own relatives!
His second eldest uncle said with a laugh, “I choose the second option. An annual interest rate of 10% is not low at all. My company funds no longer have to sit in the bank.” His opinion of his nephew had always been based on mutual loyalty, and he had known Chen Jin to never forget about his own relatives whenever there was money to be earned.
He Jia rolled her eyes at his brother. Watching him laugh so happily, she didn’t know if he was really dumb or just playing it.
But no matter her thoughts at this moment, Xing Hai Technologies belonged to Chen Jin, and she couldn’t force him to do anything. She wore a smiling expression and said, “I choose the first option. It’s better for me to invest my money. I don’t believe that Xing Hai Investments will lose anything.”
Chen Jin gave a thumbs-up. “Little aunt, that’s a very smart decision.”
His second uncle raised his gla.s.s and laughed heartily. “Little Jin, let’s have a toast to celebrate our collaboration.”
“Okay, cheers!”
The gla.s.ses of Chen Jin, He Guo Fu, and He Jia clinked together.
Their scheming intentions disappeared, and soon the table was once again surrounded in laughter and joy.
The celebration was accented by the booms and crackles of the fireworks outside.
A whole new year had begun.